Fake redneck tricks real rednecks into giving him money for jokes that weren’t funny.

Why did they laugh? Well, part of that is that laughter is a social response. Some people reacted badly to Ally McBeal because it didn’t half a laugh track, so they “didn’t know when to laugh” (they actually said that!). So, when they heard other people laughing at this guy’s “jokes,” they laughed automatically. Another part might be that they were just happy that someone was pandering to their “culture.” And some of it might have been mean-spirited when presented with a stereotype of a non-redneck in a clearly false anecdote.

Basically, it’s easy to sucker rednecks.